Understand the benefits of community for dyslexic thinkers

- Recruitment processes often filter out the very innovative, creative, dyslexic thinkers that we need; dyslexic thinkers that have the soft or power skills that are vital in a world with increasing AI dominance. In fact, research found that 96% of dyslexics believe the recruitment process puts them at a disadvantage. So let's explore why and what you can do about it. One, the application process. Make sure you talk the talk. Does your brand really understand dyslexic thinking and publicize that you are empowering it? Have all HR and talent staff take this training so they all understand it and then display the employee dyslexia badge that you can find at madebydyslexia.com to show you value and empower dyslexic thinking. Include it in your job ads and specs. Talk about it in application materials. Shout about it. And walk the walk. Make sure your job specs support dyslexic thinkers. Don't use lengthy text-based job specs in application forms. Keep application short on text and use video options wherever you can as these are brilliant for dyslexic applicants. Two, psychometric tests. Recruitment processes often rely on psychometric tests as a filter. These high volume, time-sensitive, text-based questions lean into dyslexic challenges and don't measure dyslexic strengths, often putting dyslexics at an unfair disadvantage. This is because dyslexics have an uneven cognitive profile when compared to a neurotypical one. This means we're exceptionally good at some things, often in the top percentiles, and we really struggle in other areas, often in the low percentiles. This can show up in psychometric tests as a series of conflicts and may cause employers to dismiss applications from really talented dyslexic candidates. Just recently, I heard about a super experienced CFO who applied for a role that used psychometric tests. Her dyslexic challenges in processing large amounts of texts in a set time limit meant she failed the maths element. She flagged that she was dyslexic, interviewed for the job, and got it. One easy way to make sure you're not excluding brilliant dyslexic thinkers is to ask your dyslexia ERG group to test your tests and processes with your dyslexic employees to see what they think, and then adjust accordingly. And encourage new applicants to flag that they're dyslexic before they take the tests so you can then make an informed judgment if the results aren't what you expect. Three, spelling and writing errors. Candidates who make spelling or grammar errors in their applications are often disqualified, but we know that nine out of 10 dyslexics struggle with spelling, punctuation, and grammar, so don't sweat the small stuff in applications. A spelling error is almost certainly because candidates are dyslexic. Chief accessibility officer at Microsoft Jenny Lay-Flurrie says, "We proactively hire through our neurodiversity hiring gig. We don't care if you can't spell. That's what spellcheck is for." Four, recategorize dyslexia as a neurodiversity and a skill rather than a disability. Because while dyslexia does come with challenges, few dyslexics see themselves as disabled or would actively disclose their dyslexia as a disability. And if it's categorized that on your application, they're unlikely to disclose it. Laura Powell, global head of Wealth and Personal Banking and Global Functions for HSBC says, "For us, it's really important to build an inclusive organization and for people to feel able to be themselves at work. One of the most important things is for people to feel that they can disclose that they're dyslexic and feel proud to tell us. And that we, as an employer, will see it as a superpower." So to recap, when auditing your recruitment processes to empower dyslexic thinking, here are five action points. One, acknowledge dyslexic thinking in all recruitment materials so you value it and make sure HR and talent departments are trained in it. Two, ensure role profiles and job adverts specify dyslexic thinking skills like creativity and problem solving. Three, review your methods of recruiting to ensure that dyslexic thinking is not being disadvantaged by your processes. Four, test your recruitment process with the dyslexics in your organization. Your ERG or dyslexic community can help you to work out which parts are potentially filtering out the very talent you need. Five, categorize dyslexia not as a disability, but as a neurodiversity and a skill.